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{By:Mr. Manoj Goyal}

For a family, buying a house represents a huge financial and emotional investment. However, for a lot of households, the joy of relocating to their new house is dampened because of the reality of hidden defects. These issues during the buying process are hidden, but after a while, they come to light and end up costing a lot to fix. Industry studies and even independent home-inspection companies report that a high percentage of homes that have just been handed over have structural and finishing flaws or even safety issues that, somehow, the owners were never made aware of, which only come to light after they have taken possession of the home.

The Most Common Post-Possession Defects

• Structural Cracks And Seepage: Small cracks, damp patches, and moisture seepage are the first problems buyers notice during the first monsoon. Although they seem cosmetic, they usually are signs of a far worse problem like poor plaster, improper curing, or even hidden plumbing issues.
• Plumbing Failures And Leakages: Only after thoroughly using the home do people usually realize there are plumbing failures and leakages such as inadequate water pressure and hidden pipe leaks. Problems such as dripping faucets and malfunctioning traps or poorly designed slopes in bathtubs can lead to flooding and water leakage into the lower floors of the home. These issues can become very expensive and even embarrassing for the owner.
• Electrical Faults And Safety Risks: Homeowners often realize that there are issues such as loose switchboards, short circuiting, ungrounded connections, and poorly installed MCBs after they use major electrical appliances. These issues are not merely inconveniences, especially for people living in high-rise buildings, they can potentially be dangerous.
• Poor Finishing And Workmanship: A very common finishing issue which is a resultant of subpar workmanship is the uneven tiling, gaps that are not aligned between the frames and doors, paint bubbling, windows being installed or adjusted out of alignment, and the wooden fixtures of the home swelling. These issues do not only impact the aesthetics of the home, but reduce its durability and functionality as well.
• Ventilation, Drainage, And HVAC Issues: Issues such as blocked sewer lines, lacking ventilation in bathrooms, non-working exhaust systems, and poorly positioned outlets for the air conditioning systems, usually become apparent only a few weeks after the home is occupied. These failures are a threat to the quality of air, the functionality of the space on a day to day basis, and the overall efficiency of the home.

Why These Defects Go Unnoticed Before Moving In

Homebuyers can be diligent and still fail to detect problems during property showings. Some reasons include:

• Pressure on timely possession
• Inability to detect hidden seepage or plumbing problems
• Deficiency in technical know-how
• Inaccessibility to roof slabs, shafts, electrical panels, attics.

So do the developers, particularly when it comes to completing fit-outs. This obsession leads to finishing touches being skipped, sometimes to the detriment of the overall finish.

How Professional Home Inspections Prevent These Issues

Home inspections, which are gaining popularity in India, provide a scientifically grounded property assessment in a neutral capacity before the property buyer moves in.

Home inspections are wide-reaching and include more than a hundred items: structural, electrical, and plumbing components, as well as general safety features such as moisture mapping, slope testing, appliance load testing, and thermal imaging to check for hidden faults.

Home audits enable homeowners to:

• Identify problems before they get worse
• Ensure builders finish repairs within warranty
• Prevent repairs from disrupting living in the property for several months
• Live in a home that is safe and works as intended, providing peace of mind.

Analysis of reports and insights from home inspectors and the construction industry show that 70 to 90% of the homes that have been inspected will need at least one significant repair before they can be occupied.

A Smarter Path Forward For Homebuyers

Having to deal with the reality of damages and poor workmanship after buying a home has happened more often than it should. As the housing market in India gets more developed, the required due diligence has to go beyond the pre-purchase paperwork to a more hands-on examination of the asset themselves.

Having a professional inspection done allows the buyers to know the facts, and in addition, protects their investment by making sure a supposed dream home does not end up being a liability in the future.

The homeowners should be aware of the fact that knowing where to look, the damages can be found and fixed in a more cost-efficient and cost-efficient manner before the home gets occupied.

The author, Mr. Manoj Goyal, is the Director, at Forteasia Realty Pvt. Ltd.